Java supports lambda expressions since Java 8, 18 years since the first release of the language. Certain things got ingrained during these years, a lot of code bases created and maintained in a particular way. The initial decision to not have free-standing functions or lambdas definitely shaped the ecosystem.
The problem of the static method as a function is not the implementation, it's the ergonomics. It's not terrible, but certainly it is wordy. I agree that a conservative approach to adding any new syntax is wise for a project of such an industry footprint. But the wordiness is what the original article points at, not any logical design faults.
The problem of the static method as a function is not the implementation, it's the ergonomics. It's not terrible, but certainly it is wordy. I agree that a conservative approach to adding any new syntax is wise for a project of such an industry footprint. But the wordiness is what the original article points at, not any logical design faults.